Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 14 June (WA 168)?, why information on the cost of abortions performed by the independent sector, commissioned directly by primary care trust commissioners, is not collected centrally; whether they will now ask for this information; and how many such abortions were undertaken in 2009-10.

Earl Howe: Reference cost data are currently collected from National Health Service provider organisations (NHS foundation trusts, NHS trusts and primary care trust provider arms) and show the costs they incur in providing services to patients. This covers both the services that they themselves provide and services they contract out to independent sector organisations.
	The cost to primary care trust commissioners of commissioning services from the independent sector for services such as abortion is not currently an explicit requirement of the reference cost collection. Any requirement to collect these data in the future would be subject to the department's review of central returns process. This is intended to ensure that central collections of information are appropriate to their purpose, do not duplicate existing collections, and minimise the burden on the NHS of submitting the data.
	There were 189,100 abortions performed on women resident in England and Wales in 2009 and 189,574 in 2010. Of the 189,574, over half, 59 per cent, took place in the independent sector under NHS contract.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 14 June (WA 167-68), what is the nature and extent of counselling provided to those who have previously had multiple abortions; who typically provides this counselling; and what is the evidence that it has been effective.

Earl Howe: The department does not collect information on the nature and extent of counselling provided to individual women seeking an abortion, including repeat abortions.
	The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' evidence-based guideline, The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, highlights that abortion service professionals must be able to provide the degree of support and counselling required by each individual and identify those who require more support. For the minority of women who need formal, therapeutic counselling, services should have agreed care pathways in place, with access to trained counsellors with appropriate expertise. We are considering how the provision of counselling can be strengthened to support improvements to women's health and wellbeing.

Armed Forces: A400M

Lord Gilbert: To ask Her Majesty's Government what delays will be incurred by the A400M programme due to the engine gearbox problems.

Lord Astor of Hever: The A400M development fleet continues to undergo rigorous testing, including that of the engine and gearbox, as part of the flight test activities leading to civil and military certification. During a flight test being conducted on Monday 6 June 2011, a gearbox incident took place, resulting in the automated shut down of the engine and the safe return of the aircraft to its base at Toulouse. An extensive investigation was immediately initiated and the gearbox is currently undergoing detailed inspection and failure analysis. This investigation is expected to take a number of weeks to be able to conclusively detail the cause of the incident and its report will be presented to A400M nations. To date there has been no direct impact on the overall flight test programme, although this will be reviewed once the investigation is complete.
	The A400M flight test programme continues, with appropriate limitations and inspections.

Armed Forces: A400M

Lord Gilbert: To ask Her Majesty's Government when Ministers were first apprised that the A400M would not be performing a display routine at this year's Paris air show.

Lord Astor of Hever: The decision not to fly the aircraft was taken by Airbus Military, as the operator of the aircraft, at a late stage prior to the start of the Paris air show. Due to the late nature of this decision by Airbus Military, it was not possible to brief Ministers beforehand.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government why, in light of their policy of not opting in to the European Union common asylum policy, they intend to engage with the development and functioning of the European Asylum Support Office; and what will be the nature of such engagement.

Baroness Browning: The Government are not persuaded of the need for a common EU asylum policy. We believe that by focusing its energies on unnecessary legislation, the current EU work programme misses the opportunity to take more practical steps that will help member states now with the real challenges they face on the ground.
	Engaging with the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) allows us to further our commitment to tangible, practical co-operation at EU level, in particular by providing technical assistance to build capability in member states that are facing particular migration pressures. Effective border and asylum systems in other member states are firmly in the UK's national interest as they deter illegal migration and asylum shopping. The UK has recently deployed a number of asylum experts to Greece as part of EASO operations and expects to send at least three more in the next few months.

Bahrain

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will arrange for the group trial in Bahrain of doctors and nurses to be observed daily by British and European Union diplomats.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Our embassy in Bahrain sent observers to the trials on 6 and 13 June. We will continue to monitor progress in the ongoing National Safety trials. We urge the Government of Bahrain to ensure that due process is followed in all cases and that human rights are fully respected. We will continue to raise our concerns on a regular basis.

Bank of England Act 1998

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Bank of England continues to give precedence to the monetary policy objective specified in Section 11(a) of the Bank of England Act 1998; or whether it is now giving priority to section 11(b).

Lord Sassoon: At the Budget in June 2010, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed the Monetary Policy Committee's objective of targeting 2 per cent inflation, as measured by the 12-month increase in the Consumer Prices Index.

Banking: European Central Bank

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the United Kingdom would be obliged to participate in any recapitalisation of the European Central Bank (ECB) consequent upon any losses sustained by the ECB.

Lord Sassoon: The capital of the European Central Bank (ECB) is provided by the national central banks of all EU member states. The key for capital subscription or capital key determines the share of the total capital (currently €10.76 billion) paid by each member state. It is based on a weighting of each member state's share of the European Union (EU) population and share of EU gross domestic product.
	Euro area member states pay 100 per cent of their subscribed capital. Non-euro area member states pay a much smaller percentage (currently, and since 29 December 2010, 3.75 per cent). This reflects the fact that the national central banks of all member states, including the United Kingdom, participate in the European system of central banks. However, the Bank of England contributes a relatively small amount (€58.5 million) to the ECB's capital, specifically as a contribution to its operating costs. The Bank of England makes no other contribution.
	Changes to the ECB's subscribed capital may lead to adjustments to the individual contributions from all EU member states. The ECB last increased its subscribed capital in December 2010 by €5 billion, in line with the Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) Council Regulation No. 1009/2000 of 8 May 2000, which granted the ECB's governing council with the power to decide on an increase up to this amount. At the same time, the percentage of subscribed capital that non euro area national central banks are required to pay was adjusted down from 7 per cent to 3.75 per cent; as a result, the Bank of England contributed an additional €40,473.51. Any further increase to the ECB's subscribed capital would require EU member states at ECOFIN to agree on a new council regulation.
	Net profits and losses of the ECB are allocated among the euro area national central banks. The non-euro area national central banks are not entitled to receive any share of the distributable profits of the ECB, nor are they liable to fund any losses of the ECB.

Banking: Royal Bank of Scotland

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 7 June (WA 92), whether HM Treasury has the power to require the Financial Services Authority to release to it the report commissioned by the Financial Services Authority into the failure of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Lord Sassoon: The only report commissioned by the Financial Services Authority to which this Question appears to refer is the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, on which I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave him on 14 June (Official Report, col. WA 170).

Battle of Waterloo: Commemoration

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

Baroness Rawlings: Initiatives are being organised by a number of national and regional military museums to mark the occasion, including the National Army Museum and relevant regimental museums, which come under the remit of the Ministry of Defence. There is also likely to be some commemorative activity at associated heritage sites such as Apsley House, the home of the Duke of Wellington, and Walmer Castle.

Benefits

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who claim (a) employment and support allowance in the support group, (b) employment and support allowance in the work-related activity group, or (c) incapacity benefit, have (1) Crohn's disease, (2) rheumatoid arthritis, or (3) psoriasis.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who claim (a) employment and support allowance in the support group, (b) employment and support allowance in the work-related activity group, or (c) incapacity benefit, have (1) Crohn's disease, (2) rheumatoid arthritis, or (3) psoriasis, in each of the NUTS 1 regions of Great Britain.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who claim (a) employment and support allowance in the support group, (b) employment and support allowance in the work-related activity group, or (c) incapacity benefit, have (1) Crohn's disease, (2) rheumatoid arthritis, or (3) psoriasis, in each of the NUTS 2 regions of Great Britain.

Lord Freud: The information requested is given below.
	
		
			 Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Claimants with main disabling condition Crohn's disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis by NUTS 2 areas-November 2010. 
			   All casesSupport GroupWork Related Group   
			  All Crohn's disease Psoriasis Rheumatoid arthritis All Crohn's disease Psoriasis Rheumatoid arthritis All Crohn's disease Psoriasis Rheumatoid arthritis 
			 Great Britain and Abroad 593,930 1,900 820 2,920 54,620 270 50 310 160,570 570 270 1,280 
			 Inner London 34,420 70 40 100 2,590 - - 10 6,970 20 10 30 
			 Outer London 41,420 130 50 190 3,400 10 - 20 8,980 30 10 70 
			 Greater Manchester 34,470 110 50 160 3,850 30 - 20 10,440 30 20 70 
			 Merseyside 20,460 70 30 90 1,420 10 - - 6,300 20 20 50 
			 South Yorkshire 12,720 40 10 60 1,160 10 - - 3,770 20 - 30 
			 Northumberland and Tyne and Wear 20,880 50 40 120 1,890 - - 10 4,990 20 20 50 
			 West Midlands 29,410 80 30 130 2,390 10 - 10 6,920 20 10 50 
			 West Yorkshire 23,810 70 30 100 2,210 10 - 10 6,190 20 - 50 
			 Tees Valley and Durham 14,470 40 30 60 1,220 10 - - 3,830 10 10 30 
			 Cheshire CC 9,460 40 20 50 840 10 - 10 2,940 10 10 30 
			 Lancashire 18,350 40 20 90 2,180 10 - 10 5,280 10 10 40 
			 East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 8,670 40 10 50 830 10 - 10 2,740 20 - 20 
			 North Yorkshire CC 4,860 10 10 10 520 - - - 1,290 - - - 
			 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 19,540 60 30 100 1,730 10 - 10 5,820 10 10 40 
			 Leicester Rutland and Northamptonshire 13,840 50 20 80 1,390 10 - - 3,930 20 10 40 
			 Herefordshire Worcestershire and Warwickshire 9,720 30 10 60 990 10 - - 2,560 10 - 20 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 14,580 40 20 70 1,220 - - 10 3,770 20 - 40 
			 Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area 18,460 70 30 110 1,750 10 - 10 6,360 20 10 60 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 5,060 20 10 30 390 - - - 1,600 10 10 20 
			 Devon 9,360 30 10 60 920 10 - 10 3,180 10 10 30 
			 Dorset and Somerset 10,280 30 10 40 950 - - 10 3,470 10 10 20 
			 East Anglia 18,710 60 20 100 2,170 10 - 10 5,290 20 10 50 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 11,730 60 20 70 970 10 - - 2,880 20 - 30 
			 Essex 14,450 50 10 60 1,040 - - - 3,500 10 - 20 
			 Kent 15,250 70 20 100 1,460 10 - 10 5,340 30 10 50 
			 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 14,220 50 10 60 1,420 10 - 10 3,740 10 - 30 
			 Surrey , East and West Sussex 19,680 80 20 110 2,060 10 - 10 5,230 30 10 60 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 14,830 50 20 60 1,410 10 - 10 4,320 20 - 20 
			 Cumbria 4,910 20 - 30 360 - - - 1,810 10 - 20 
			 Lincolnshire 5,690 30 10 40 710 10 - 10 1,900 10 - 20 
			 North Eastern Scotland 3,430 20 - 20 460 - - - 890 - - 10 
			 Eastern Scotland 20,560 70 30 120 2,030 10 - 10 4,740 20 10 50 
			 South Western Scotland 33,900 100 80 160 3,670 20 10 20 7,460 30 20 70 
			 Highlands and Islands 2,540 10 - 20 240 - - - 580 - - - 
			 West Wales and The Valleys 26,820 80 30 130 1,840 10 - 20 7,980 20 20 50 
			 East Wales 12,610 50 20 60 900 10 - 10 3,560 10 10 20 
			 Unknown/Abroad 350 - - - 40 - - - 50 - - - 
		
	
	
		
			 ESA Claimants by NUTS1 areas and phase/stage of the claim-November 2010. 
			   All casesSupport GroupWork Related Group   
			  All Crohn's disease Psoriasis Rheumatoid arthritis All Crohn's disease Psoriasis Rheumatoid arthritis All Crohn's disease Psoriasis Rheumatoid arthritis 
			 GB and abroad 593,930 1,900 820 2,920 54,620 270 50 310 160,570 570 270 1,280 
			 North East 32,200 70 60 160 2,840 10 - 10 7,850 20 20 70 
			 North West 87,650 280 120 410 8,650 60 10 50 26,770 80 50 200 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 53,210 170 70 240 5,000 20 10 20 14,960 50 10 110 
			 East Midlands 39,070 130 60 220 3,830 20 - 20 11,640 40 20 100 
			 West Midlands 53,700 160 60 270 4,600 20 - 30 13,250 50 20 110 
			 East of England 44,890 170 50 240 4,170 30 - 20 11,670 50 20 100 
			 London 75,840 200 100 290 5,980 20 - 30 15,940 50 20 100 
			 South East 63,980 250 70 340 6,350 30 - 30 18,630 100 20 160 
			 South West 43,170 150 70 240 4,010 30 10 40 14,600 40 30 130 
			 Wales 39,440 120 60 190 2,740 20 - 20 11,530 30 20 70 
			 Scotland 60,430 190 110 320 6,400 30 10 40 13,680 50 30 130 
			 Unknown/Abroad 350 - - - 40 - - - 50 - - - 
		
	
	
		
			 Number of Incapacity Benefit (IB)/Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) claimants with main disabling condition Crohn's disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis by NUTS 2 areas-November 2010 
			  All Crohn's disease Psoriasis Rheumatoid arthritis 
			 Great Britain and Abroad 2,031,930 6,770 5,060 19,780 
			 Inner London 115,310 280 230 590 
			 Outer London 125,660 370 260 1,030 
			 Greater Manchester 120,430 420 250 940 
			 Merseyside 75,800 260 220 640 
			 South Yorkshire 45,110 140 100 480 
			 Northumberland and Tyne and Wear 70,820 260 220 780 
			 West Midlands 100,770 290 280 1,080 
			 West Yorkshire 77,760 260 200 750 
			 Tees Valley and Durham 54,590 180 130 540 
			 Cheshire CC 32,130 140 100 350 
			 Lancashire 60,030 170 160 540 
			 East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 30,650 110 90 370 
			 North Yorkshire CC 17,310 70 60 210 
			 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 76,750 260 210 730 
			 Leicester Rutland and Northamptonshire 43,800 150 140 480 
			 Herefordshire Worcestershire and Warwickshire 30,910 120 80 380 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 52,190 140 120 600 
			 Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area 61,650 230 130 550 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 18,460 80 40 220 
			 Devon 37,940 120 100 410 
			 Dorset and Somerset 35,270 120 70 330 
			 East Anglia 61,460 200 150 700 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 36,030 140 60 360 
			 Essex 44,030 170 90 460 
			 Kent 45,090 170 80 510 
			 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 40,090 140 50 380 
			 Surrey , East and West Sussex 61,610 210 120 530 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 43,020 150 80 510 
			 West Wales and The Valleys 104,770 340 290 1,060 
			 East Wales 41,680 140 110 440 
			 Cumbria 17,290 50 60 200 
			 Lincolnshire 22,170 60 40 260 
			 North Eastern Scotland 13,980 50 30 130 
			 Eastern Scotland 75,940 290 230 840 
			 South Western Scotland 119,000 430 400 1,140 
			 Highlands and Islands 12,630 50 50 150 
			 Unknown/Abroad 9,790 30 30 110 
		
	
	
		
			 Number of IB/SDA claimants with main disabling condition Crohn's disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis by NUTS1 areas-November 2010. 
			  All Crohn's disease Psoriasis Rheumatoid arthritis 
			 Great Britain and Abroad 2,031,930 6,770 5,060 19,780 
			 North East 114,250 400 330 1,220 
			 North West 305,680 1,030 780 2,670 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 181,990 610 470 1,900 
			 East Midlands 142,720 470 390 1,470 
			 West Midlands 183,880 550 480 2,070 
			 East of England 141,520 510 300 1,530 
			 London 240,970 650 490 1,620 
			 South East 189,810 670 340 1,930 
			 South West 153,320 560 340 1,500 
			 Wales 146,450 480 400 1,490 
			 Scotland 221,560 820 710 2,250 
			 Unknown/Abroad 9,790 30 30 110 
		
	
	Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent WPLS.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. To qualify for Incapacity Benefit (IB), claimants have to undertake a medical assessment of incapacity for work called a Personal Capability Assessment. Under the Employment Support Allowance regime, new claimants have to undergo the Work Capability assessment. From April 2011 Incapacity Benefit recipients have begun also to undertake this assessment. The medical condition recorded on the claim form does not itself confer entitlement to Incapacity Benefit or Employment Support Allowance. So, for example, a decision on entitlement for a customer claiming IB or ESA on the basis of mental and behavioural disorders would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities assessed by the Personal / Work Capability Assessment.
	3. Data includes people in receipt of benefit and also those who fail the contributions conditions but receive a National Insurance Credit, ie credits only cases.
	4. Employment and Support Allowance replaced Incapacity Benefit and Income Support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008.
	5. Phase/Stage of ESA claim derived from payment details held on the source s
	6. " - " denotes nil or negligible.
	7. Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) was created by the European Office for Statistics (Eurostat) as a single hierarchical classification of spatial units used for statistical production across the European Union.
	8. NUTS1 areas are equivalent to English regions, Scotland and Wales.
	9. NUTS 2 areas are defined as below:
	England-Counties/groups of counties.
	Scotland-Combinations of council areas.
	Wales-Groups of unitary authorities.
	see http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/nuts.asp

Children: Poverty

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government (a) how many, and (b) what proportion of, children were living in poverty in each of the past 30 years, using the after housing costs measure of poverty.

Lord Freud: Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or equivalised) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
	The latest year of data that are available is 2009-10. The table below shows the number and proportion of children with income below 60 per cent of contemporary median income after housing costs (AHC) in the UK, for available years between 1979 and 2009-10.
	
		
			 Table: Numbers and proportions of children in households with equivalised incomes below 60 per cent of contemporary median income after housing costs (AHC) 
			  Number (million) Proportion (%) 
			 1979 2.0 14 
			 1981 2.8 21 
			 1987 3.3 27 
			 1988 and 1989 3.4 27 
			 1990 and 1991 3.9 31 
			 1991 and 1992 4.1 32 
			 1992 and 1993 4.4 34 
			 1993-94 to 1994-95 4.3 33 
			 1994-95 4.1 33 
			 1995-96 4.2 33 
			 1996-97 4.3 34 
			 1997-98 4.2 33 
			 1998-99 4.4 34 
			 1999-00 4.3 33 
			 2000-01 4.1 31 
			 2001-02 4.0 31 
			 2002-03 3.9 30 
			 2003-04 3.7 29 
			 2004-05 3.6 28 
			 2005-06 3.8 30 
			 2006-07 3.9 30 
			 2007-08 4.0 31 
			 2008-09 3.9 30 
			 2009-10 3.8 29 
		
	
	1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data available at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbai_arc
	2. Data up to 1994-95 is sourced from the Family Expenditure Survey and covers the United Kingdom. These are single calendar years for 1979, 1981, and 1987, two combined calendar years from 1988 to 1993 and a combined financial year 1993-94 to 1994-95. Data since the single financial year 1994-95 is sourced from the Family Resources Survey and covers Great Britain up to 1997-98 and the United Kingdom from 1998-99, with estimates for Northern Ireland imputed for the years 1998-99 through 2001-02. The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years.
	3. Disposable household income is adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.
	4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.
	5. Numbers of people in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.
	6. Figures have been presented a After Housing Cost (AHC) basis. For Before Housing Costs (BHC) figures, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, buildings insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for AHC they are. Child poverty is more commonly measured BHC rather than AHC. The targets set out in the Child Poverty Act and our broader set of income measures in the Child Poverty Strategy are calculated on a BHC basis. International comparisons are also calculated this way.
	7. The household level poverty threshold is defined as the 60 per cent of contemporary median equivalised disposable household income.

Coroners' Inquests

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances in England a coroner's inquest is not held following a death in unusual circumstances.

Lord McNally: The circumstances in which coroners in England and Wales must hold an inquest are set out in Section 8 of the Coroners Act 1988. This provides that where a coroner is informed that a body of a person is lying within their district and there is reasonable cause to suspect that the deceased has either died a violent or unnatural death, has died a sudden death of which the cause is unknown; or has died in prison or police custody, then, regardless of where the death occurred, the coroner must hold an inquest into the death of the deceased as soon as practicably possible. They may not hold inquests in other circumstances.

Education: Duty to Co-operate

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the duty to co-operate in so far as education is concerned.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The findings of the Audit Commission's report Are We There Yet? showed that before the duty to co-operate was extended, schools and colleges in most areas were engaging voluntarily as partners in local co-operation arrangements.
	The Government have taken into account the evidence in that report and the need to reduce the burden of statutory duties on schools and colleges. We are not convinced that the addition of schools and colleges to the list of statutory relevant partners, under Section 10 of the Children Act 2004, was an effective or appropriate way of improving children's educational outcomes or of enabling the best local co-operation arrangements to be put in place.

Emergency Travel Documents

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the number of emergency travel documents issued to undocumented nationals of Iran, Palestine and Eritrea for each of the past three calendar years.

Baroness Browning: The number of emergency travel documents issued to nationals of Iran, Palestine and Eritrea for each of the past three calendar years is a follows:
	
		
			 Years Eritrea Iran Palestine Total * 
			 2008 0 5 6 11 
			 2009 1 9 1 11 
			 2010 1 7 0 8 
		
	
	* The figures have been extracted from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. They have not been provided under National Statistics protocols.

Finance: Private Finance Initiative

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to increase transparency on the capital gains made by firms running private finance initiative projects as a result of large scale equity transfer.

Lord Sassoon: HM Treasury currently collect, from departments, and publish PFI project data biannually. This includes information on the capital value, equity owners and full stream of payments over a projects life. This information can be accessed from the Treasury website: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_pfistats.htm.
	HM Treasury recognise that there is insufficient transparency in investor returns, particularly in relation to secondary market sales. The Treasury is now engaging with the National Audit Office to scope a workstream on PFI equity issues including transparency.

Fire and Rescue Services

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many firefighters were employed in Greater London by the Fire Authority in each year from 1996 up until the last year for which records are available.

Baroness Hanham: The numbers of firefighters in full-time equivalents employed in Greater London by the Fire Authority for each year from 1996 up until the last year available are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Numbers of firefighters (full-time equivalents) at 31 March in Greater London 1996 to 20101 
			 Year Wholetime firefighters (full-time equivalents) 
			 1996 6,235 
			 1997 6,131 
			 1998 5,909 
			 1999 5,973 
			 2000 5,639 
			 2001 5,693 
			 2002 5,913 
			 2003 5,875 
			 2004 5,986 
			 2005 5,924 
			 2006 5,953 
			 2007 5,929 
			 2008 5,910 
			 2009 6,026 
			 2010 5,900 
		
	
	1 Data for 1996 and 1997 is at 1 January
	Source: Annual Returns to DCLG-London Fire Brigade

Government: Official Hospitality

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the United Kingdom representative of the Dalai Lama was not invited to a reception hosted by Baroness Warsi on 13 June specifically for Buddhist leaders and ambassadors of Buddhist countries.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The right honourable Baroness Warsi hosted a celebratory reception for over 120 representatives of different faiths, organisations and Buddhist traditions in recognition of the contribution that the Buddhist community makes to the United Kingdom. The Dalai Lama's representative was not included in the list of diplomatic invitees because he does not have diplomatic status.

Government Departments: Research and Data

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 15 June (WA 194), what research or data collection the Secretary of State for Defence has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 15 June (WA 194), what research or data collection the Minister of State for the Armed Forces has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 15 June (WA 194), what research or data collection the Minister for International Security Strategy has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 15 June (WA 194), what research or data collection the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 15 June (WA 194), what research or data collection the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 15 June (WA 194), what research or data collection the Under Secretary of State for Defence has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.

Lord Astor of Hever: Research or data collection for the Ministry of Defence is provided internally by departmental experts or by commercial staff placing a wide range of external contracts on behalf of the relevant top level budget holders. Information on work initiated, terminated and amended for all Defence Ministers by either means is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Government Departments: Research and Data

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 20 June (WA 241) what research or data collection the Chancellor of the Exchequer has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 20 June (WA241), what research or data collection the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 20 June (WA 241), what research or data collection the Financial Secretary to the Treasury has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 20 June (WA 241), what research or data collection the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon 20 June (WA 241), what research or data collection the Economic Secretary to the Treasury has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12th May 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 20 June (WA 241), what research or data collection the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury has (a) initiated, (b) terminated, and (c) amended, since 12 May 2010.

Lord Sassoon: This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Government Departments: Scientific Advisers

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government who is the Departmental Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Communities and Local Government; and (a) when they were appointed and for how long, (b) what is their academic or experience background, (c) what is their civil service rank, (d) whether their post is full-time or part-time, and what other work commitments they have, and (e) on how many occasions during the past year they have had meetings with the Secretary of State or the Minister to whom they have direct responsibility.

Baroness Hanham: The Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Communities and Local Government is Professor Jeremy Watson.
	He was appointed in November 2009, for a period of three years.
	His areas of expertise include the strategic management of research and innovation, including technology evaluation and transfer between higher education institutions and public and private sectors. He has worked across sectors to create and implement strategic research agendas, and has led research programme management teams for public, private and voluntary sector organisations. A chartered electrical engineer, he is technically qualified in applied physics, particularly building energy, control and automation, and has worked as an expert in industry in these areas (Eurotherm and the British Oxygen Company).
	Before taking up the role of Chief Scientist in the Department of Communities and Local Government, Jeremy Watson worked as Technology Director for the British Oxygen Company Edwards and as Research Director with Ove Arup and Partners. In this time, he additionally served on the governing board of the Technology Strategy Board, and as a founding trustee of the Institute for Sustainability. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Academic engagement is actively maintained through visiting professorships at the Universities of Southampton and Sussex in schools of Civil and Environmental and Engineering and Design, respectively. He is a member of advisory boards at the Universities of Cambridge, Imperial College and Reading.
	He is a Grade 3/SCSPB2.
	His post is part time, 0.5 full-time education, and he is also global research director at Arup.
	The Chief Scientific Adviser meets Ministers and officials in the course of his duties.

Government Departments: Scientific Advisers

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government who is the Departmental Chief Scientific Adviser for HM Treasury; and (a) when they were appointed and for how long, (b) what is their academic or experience background, (c) what is their civil service rank, (d) whether their post is full-time or part-time, and what other work commitments they have, and (e) on how many occasions during the past year they have had meetings with the Chancellor of the Exchequer or the Minister to whom they have direct responsibility.

Lord Sassoon: HM Treasury's Chief Scientific Adviser is Dr James Richardson, who was appointed on 2 June 2011. Dr Richardson has a PhD in labour economics from the London School of Economics and fulfils the post part-time alongside being Chief Microeconomist and Director of Public Spending. His rank is Senior Civil Service Pay Band 2. Dr Richardson will have regular meetings with Ministers in this role.

Government Departments: Scientific Advisers

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government who is the Departmental Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Work and Pensions; and (a) when they were appointed and for how long, (b) what is their academic or experience background, (c) what is their civil service rank, (d) whether their post is full-time or part-time, and what other work commitments they have, and (e) on how many occasions during the past year they have had meetings with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions or the Minister to whom they have direct responsibility.

Lord Freud: Dr Bill Gunnyeon was appointed to the combined post of Chief Medical Adviser and Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Work and Pensions in June 2005, on a permanent basis. An accredited specialist in Occupational Medicine, Dr Gunnyeon is a Fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine and holds Fellowships of the Royal College of Physicians of London, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal College of General Practitioners. He is a Past President of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, the standard setting body for the training of Occupational Physicians in the UK.
	Dr Gunnyeon's post is full-time and is a Senior Civil Service Pay Band 2 (Director) level post. He is also the Director for Health, Work and Wellbeing - a role which includes responsibility for leading on health and work related policy. Over the past year Dr Gunnyeon has had 68 meetings with the Department's Ministers. He has provided support to Ministers on a further 19 occasions.

Health: Hepatitis C

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to decrease rates of infection with hepatitis C from tattooing, piercing and intravenous drug use during the current pop music festival season.

Earl Howe: The Health Protection Agency issued a press release on 21 June 2011 and published information on its website about health risks associated with attending outdoor music festival, copies of which have been placed in the Library. This includes information about tattooing and piercing.
	The National Travel Health Network and Centre has published parallel advice about attending music festivals abroad, a copy of which has also been placed in the Library.
	Local National Health Service organisations and their partners are responsible for providing information and advice locally.
	The Home Office has been working with festival organisers and police forces to take measures to tackle potential drug use. Advice for young people about drugs and the risks of drug-taking is available on the FRANK website at: www.talktofrank.com and from the associated confidential helpline (0800 776600).

Health: Nutrition

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the savings which could be made by the National Health Service if the guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on nutrition support in adults, published in February 2006, is fully implemented (a) nationally, and (b) by primary care trust area.

Earl Howe: The guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in 2006 was accompanied by a national cost impact report, which calculated the annual saving of fully implementing the guideline to be £13.3 million.
	The guidance also includes a cost impact template for local use, which enables organisations such as primary care trusts to estimate the impact locally and replace variables with ones that depict the current local position. A sample calculation carried out by NICE using this template showed that the average primary care trust with an adult population of 134,000 could expect to incur additional costs of £122,000, offset by potential annual savings of £150,000 resulting in a net saving of £28,000.

Health: Nutrition

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial incentives are in place to ensure that providers of health services offer good quality nutritional care to patients.

Earl Howe: Financial incentives to improve quality are provided through the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) payment framework. This enables commissioners to reward excellence by linking a proportion of providers' income to the achievement of local quality improvement goals.
	The NHS Operating Framework for 2011-12 confirms the extension of the framework to the new National Health Service standard contract for care homes. The new standard amount providers can earn will be 1.5 per cent on top of actual outturn value.
	Commissioners must share agreed CQUIN schemes on the NHS Institute website. In addition, providers are also required, within their quality accounts, to state where details of their agreed CQUIN scheme(s) can be found.

HM Revenue and Customs: Taxation

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many queries to HM Revenue and Customs from members of the public about their personal taxation had not been responded to on (a) 31 May 2010, and (b) 31 May 2011; and what was the average time estimated on each of those dates for such queries to receive an initial reply.

Lord Sassoon: Correspondence from members of the public held in local Pay as You Earn and Self Assessment Offices at the end of May 2010 was 901,000 items. At the end of May 2011 there were 553,000 items on hand.
	HMRC does not keep details of average times for reply. Correspondence is sorted into different priorities and different timescales apply to each workload. However, the 2010 figure represented approximately five weeks worth of receipts and the 2011 figure less than three weeks.

Housing Benefit

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 14 June (WA 178-9), what is their estimate of the number of people claiming housing benefit resident in (a) the English regions outside London, (b) Scotland, and (c) Wales who presently have a spare room.

Lord Freud: Using information from the department's 2009-10 Family Resources Survey, we estimate that the number of households claiming housing benefit who have a spare room is approximately:
	(a) 1.0 million in the English regions outside of London;
	(b) 0.2 million in Scotland; and
	(c) 0.1 million in Wales.
	Notes:
	1. Data for the 2009-10 Family Resources Survey was collected between April 2009 and March 2010.
	2. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 23,000 households across Great Britain.
	3. The Family Resources Survey is known to under-record benefit receipt so the estimates presented should be treated with caution.
	4. Figures from the Family Resources Survey are based on a sample of households that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors. These align the Family Resources Survey to regional population estimates by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
	5. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 100,000.
	6. The number of claimants with spare rooms has been estimated by applying the bedroom criteria that applies to most housing benefit claimants living in the private rented sector. Some current housing benefit claimants would be assessed against different criteria, whilst some would have no restrictions currently applied to the size of their accommodation.
	7. This question has been answered at a household level rather than an individual level. In a small number of cases there are multiple housing benefit claimants living in a single household. This would apply to joint tenants in receipt of housing benefit. Where there are multiple housing benefit claimants in a single household containing a spare room, these have been counted once the above figures rather than for each individual housing benefit claimant.

Housing Benefit

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hanham on 7 June (WA 109), what formula is used to determine allocations of discretionary housing payment funding within London.

Lord Freud: For the financial year 2011-12, £20 million of the discretionary housing payment fund is, as was the case in previous years, based on the mid-point between its discretionary housing payment spend for the latest year for which we have reliable data and its contribution for that year.
	The remaining £210 million has been allocated differently and is based upon the department's estimates of the total gross reductions in housing benefit entitlement in each local authority that will result from the local housing allowance reforms that came into effect in April 2011. This has meant that London received around 40 per cent of the additional funding allocated as a result of these measures.
	The department is reviewing the allocation of discretionary housing payments for 2012-13.
	Further information about the likely impacts on specific local authorities can be found on the DWP website: www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/impacts-of-hb-proposals- tables.xls.

Housing Benefit

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 6 June (WA 47), how many of 1,870 local housing allowance claimants aged between 25 and 35 living in the private rented sector in Tower Hamlets are (a) single people, (b) couples or (c) households including children, and how many of those are already living in shared accommodation in each instance.

Lord Freud: The following table shows how many of 1,870 local housing allowance cases in Tower Hamlets in the 25 to 34 age group in February 2011 were (a) single people, (b) couples or (c) households including children.
	LHA claimants in Tower Hamlets aged 25-34 split by family type, February 2011
	
		
			 All 1,870 
			 Single no child dependants 1,020 
			 Couple no child dependant 90 
			 Single or couple with child dependants 770 
		
	
	Source: Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE)
	Notes:
	1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten.
	3. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases. An Extended Payment is a payment that may be received for a further 4 weeks when they start working full time, work more hours or earn more money.
	4. Age groups are based on the age on the count date (second Thursday in the month), of either:
	(a) the recipient if they are single, or
	(b) the elder of the recipient or partner if claiming as a couple
	The number of these cases already living in shared accommodation is not available. DWP administrative data on the actual size of property occupied is not of sufficient quality to provide estimates.
	The equality impact assessment of the increase to the shared accommodation rate age threshold, available on the DWP website at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-hb-shared-accommodation-age-threshold.pdf, provides estimates of the numbers of LHA cases in March 2010 in Tower Hamlets aged over 25 who were entitled based on the shared accommodation rate.

Housing Benefit

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of local housing allowance claimants in Tower Hamlets who will be losers as a result of the decision to extend the shared accommodation rate to those aged between 25 and 35 from 1 January 2012, and what will be the average loss per loser.

Lord Freud: Based on analysis of the local housing allowance case load in March 2010, it is estimated that 320 claimants in Tower Hamlets would have their local housing allowance reduced to the shared accommodation rate due to the extension of the age threshold to 35. The average loss per loser is estimated at £109 per week.
	Source: Equality impact assessment of the increase to the shared accommodation rate age threshold, available on the DWP website at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-hb-shared-accommodation- age-threshold.pdf.

Housing Benefit

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued in relation to the period for which a discretionary housing payment should be awarded.

Lord Freud: The Department for Work and Pensions published a Discretionary Housing Payments-Good Practice Guide in March 2011. A copy of the guidance can be found on the website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dhpguide.pdf.
	The period of time for which a discretionary housing payment can be awarded is down to the discretion of the local authority.

Immigration: Deportation

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many enforced removals or deportations have taken place in each of the past three years to Somalia, excluding Somaliland.

Baroness Browning: The number of enforced removals and deportations to Somalia in each of the past three years for which figures are available was as follows:
	1 April 2008-31 March 2009 (13);1 April 2009-31 March 2010 (24); and1 April 2010-31 March 2011 (12)
	We are unable to distinguish between Somalia and Somaliland when reporting on removals to this region. Our standard reports only record these removals as being to Somalia.
	All figures quoted are internal management information only and are subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under national statistics protocols.

Immigration: Deportation

Lord King of West Bromwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many foreign offenders were identified as liable for deportation in each of the past five years.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many foreign offenders were deported in each of the past five years.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many foreign offenders have completed their sentences and are still in prison awaiting deportation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many foreign offenders in British prisons have been detained after completion of their sentences for (a) one year, (b) two years and (c) three years or more while awaiting deportation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the detention of foreign offenders after the completion of their sentences while awaiting deportation is compatible with human rights legislation.

Baroness Browning: The table below sets out the number of liability to deportation letters served in each year. The liability to deportation letter is given to all foreign national prisoners (FNPs) who meet the criteria for deportation near the beginning of their sentence. It explains the FNPs' liability to deportation and gives them an opportunity to state why they should not be deported or, where applicable, why they are exempt from automatic deportation.
	
		
			 Year Number of Liability to Deportation Letters served 
			 2007 6330 
			 2008 5225 
			 2009 5635 
			 2010 6110 
		
	
	This information is from internal management information systems and should therefore be treated as provisional and subject to change. Please note that data have been rounded to the nearest five.
	The number of people served with letters of potential liability does not directly correspond with the number of people deported in each year as those served with liability letters may be deported in later years. It should also be noted that not all those served with a liability letter will be deported as some individuals may be able to remain in the UK on the basis of an allowed appeal or as a result of them being identified as a British citizen.
	The table below shows the published figures for number of foreign nationals removed or deported from the UK. Please note that the data for 2006 are not considered to be reliable for publication.
	
		
			 Year Number of foreign nationals removed or deported from the UK. 
			 2007 4200 
			 2008 5400 
			 2009 5530 
			 2010 5235 
		
	
	UK Border Agency management information shows that in 2010, for an average month, approximately 635 foreign national prisoners were detained in prisons and 1,135 detained in immigration removal centres beyond the end of their custodial sentence while deportation was considered. These average figures are based on internal management information and are subject to change.
	The table below shows a snapshot of time served by FNPs detained under immigration powers in prison at the end of May 2011, by length of detention.
	
		
			 Length of time detained beyond the end of sentence in prison Number detained 
			 Time Served 12-24 months 45 
			 Time Served 24-36 months 30 
			 Time Served 36 months + 10 
		
	
	This information is from internal management information systems and should therefore be treated as provisional and subject to change. Please note that data have been rounded to the nearest five.
	We are satisfied that detention policies and practices comply with human rights legislation. All decisions to detain are taken on the basis of the individual circumstances of the person concerned, taking account of all factors arguing both for and against detention, and are kept under regular review. The UK Border Agency's detention policy starts with a presumption of liberty but the courts have held that it is appropriate to consider the risks of absconding, re-offending and subsequent harm to the public in making these decisions. Immigration Act powers to detain are not time limited. However, domestic and European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) case law provides that detention must last for no longer than is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it is authorised and must not be of excessive duration.

Immigration: Detainees

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many citizens of Iran, Palestine, Eritrea and Somalia have been held in immigration detention in the United Kingdom for (a) longer than one year, and (b) longer than two years, at the latest date for which figures are available.

Baroness Browning: The table below shows the number of nationals of the specified countries who were detained solely under Immigration Act powers as 31 March 2011, having been held in detention for (a) 12 months to less than 24 months and (b) 24 months or more. This is the latest date for which published statistics are available.
	
		
			 Nationals of Eritrea, Iran, Occupied Palestinian Territories and Somalia in detention in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers as at 31 March 2011 (1)(2) who had been held for a year or longer (3)(M) 
			   Number of detainees 
			 Length of detention (3) 12 months to less than 24 months 24 months or more 
			 Nationals of:   
			 Eritrea - - 
			 Iran 10 5 
			 Occupied Palestinian Territories * - 
			 Somalia 10 5 
		
	
	(1) Figures rounded to the nearest 5 (- = 0, = 1 or 2), may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding and exclude persons detained in police cells, Prison Service establishments and those detained under both criminal and immigration powers and their dependants.
	(2) Figures include dependants.
	(3) Relates to most recent period of sole detention. The period of detention starts when a person first enters the UK Border Agency estate. If the person is then moved from a removal centre to a police cell or Prison Service establishment, this period of stay will be included if the detention is solely under Immigration Act powers.
	(M) Management information.
	The Home Office publishes statistics on those detained as at the last day of each quarter solely under Immigration Act powers, which are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Science, Research and Statistics website at: http://homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/researchstatistics/migration/migration-statistics1/.
	Figures for those detained as at 30 June 2011 will be published on 25 August 2011.

Immigration: Detention

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average cost per person per night of immigration detention.

Baroness Browning: The current average cost of detaining an individual at an immigration detention centre is £102 per night.

Immigration: Detention

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many persons released from immigration detention are de facto stateless because the state of which they were citizens prior to their arrival in the United Kingdom will not acknowledge them or issue them with travel documents; what is the breakdown of these persons by their original nationality; what is the cost to the taxpayer of support provided to those persons under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; and whether they will grant those persons temporary leave to remain in the United Kingdom with permission to work.

Baroness Browning: The UK Border Agency (UKBA) does not hold the data requested.
	The United Kingdom is a signatory to the 1954 UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The Government are satisfied that the UK meets its obligations under those conventions.
	The UKBA is satisfied that those who find themselves at the end of the asylum process without having being granted protection status (or any other form of leave) have no need of protection in the UK and can return home.

Immigration: Detention of Children

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children were detained under the Immigration Acts as part of families in 2010.

Baroness Browning: Local records indicate that 367 children who were part of a family group left immigration detention between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2010.
	These figures are based on local management information and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for national statistics. They are provisional and may be subject to change.
	The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of children detained solely under Immigration Act powers on a quarterly and annual basis, which are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at: www. homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will propose to the Government of Israel effective means whereby the Palestinian inhabitants of east Jerusalem can have full access to necessary education and health services, and to enable health and education workers to reach their places of work.

Lord Howell of Guildford: As I said in the House on 16 June (Official Report, col. 876) we remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement between the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
	According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) there are now 505 obstacles that restrict Palestinian access, compared with 578 at the end of 2009. We welcome these improvements but it is clear that more could be done, particularly in the Jordan Valley and Palestinian land on the Israeli side of the separation barrier.
	We continue to make our concerns clear to the Israelis through our embassy in Tel Aviv.

Legal Aid

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many civil cases that would have been denied legal aid or advice under the Government's original proposals in the legal aid Green Paper will now receive legal aid or advice as a result of the revised proposals, and what cost will be incurred thereby.

Lord McNally: We estimate that approximately 1,500 additional civil non-family cases per year will receive legal aid as a result of the policy changes we have made to our programme of legal aid reform following consultation. This relates to approximately £1.5 million spend.
	It is more difficult to estimate the extra family cases that will be funded as we are bringing parts of categories back into scope. However, we estimate that approximately 9,000 more family cases will receive legal aid, at a cost of approximately £8 million. This is as a result of changes made to our proposals as a result of consultation, but some of the increase is the result of using the latest available data.

NHS: Hospital Beds

Lord Reid of Cardowan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the fall in the number of acute hospital beds in England over the five years 2010 to 2015.

Earl Howe: We expect to see a continuing gradual decline in the number of general and acute hospital bed numbers.
	We expect strategic health authorities to publish their integrated plans for investment and quality improvement for 2011-12, including forecasts of acute bed capacity up to 2014-15, in the summer.
	The decline in bed numbers reflects advances in medical technology, shorter stays for routine operations and more day surgery, meaning that fewer beds are needed across the service-this is part of a long-term downward trend in the average length of stay in hospital.
	We are committed to treating patients quickly and efficiently, delivering more care in the community, and supporting people with long-term conditions in their own homes. The experts all agree that this is the best way to deliver healthcare to patients. As fewer beds are needed, it is right that the number of beds available should be reduced so that funds can be reinvested into delivering high quality patient care.

Parliament Square

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many tents are currently erected in Parliament Square; how many of those have been authorised by the Metropolitan Police; and what are the criteria for authorisation.

Baroness Browning: The Home Office does not hold this information. Section 134 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 sets out the criteria the Metropolitan Police would use for authorisation.

Passports

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many passports were issued by the Belfast Office in each year since 2006.

Baroness Browning: The numbers of passports issued by the Belfast regional office in each year are as shown in the following table.
	
		
			  2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Passports issued in Belfast 354,688 380,455 348,900 378,527 362,466

Piracy

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government what conclusions they have reached concerning the prosecution of alleged pirates detained in international waters off Somalia following the judgment of Mr Justice Mohammed Ibrahim that Kenyan courts have no power over offences committed outside Kenyan territorial waters.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government are aware of Mr Justice Mohammed Ibrahim's judgment that the Kenyan penal code did not allow for the trial of individuals indicted for committing acts of piracy outside Kenya's territorial waters. We await the outcome of the Kenyan Government's appeal of the judgment, which will be heard in July 2011. The Government hope the appeal will be successful.
	It is our understanding that the Kenyan Merchant Shipping Act, effective from 1 September 2009, applies to cases against suspected pirates detained after this date.
	We work closely with states in the region, such as Seychelles and Mauritius, who accept suspected pirates for trial and continue to encourage others, such as Tanzania, to do likewise.

Police: Elected Commissioners

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many chief constables have (a) expressed support for the Government's proposals for elected police commissioners, and (b) expressed concerns about the Government's proposals for elected police commissioners.

Baroness Browning: The Government continue to have constructive discussions with chief constables about the full range of their proposals for police reform.

Police: Pursuits

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the code of practice on the management of police pursuits will be issued to police forces.

Baroness Browning: The code was issued on 23 May. It has been presented to Parliament and is available on the Home Office website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/police/police-pursuits.

Poverty

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government (a) how many, and (b) what proportion of, adults of working age were living in poverty in each of the past 30 years, using both the before housing costs and after housing costs measures of poverty.

Lord Freud: Estimates of the number and proportion of people living in relative low income are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series.
	The table below shows the numbers and proportions of working age people living in households with equivalised incomes below 60 per cent of contemporary median income in the UK between 1979 and 2009-10, provided both on a before housing costs and after housing costs basis.
	
		
			 Table: Numbers and proportions of working age people living in households with equivalised incomes below 60 per cent of contemporary median income 
			  Before Housing Costs  After Housing Costs  
			  Number (million) Proportion (%) Number (million) Proportion (%) 
			 1979 2.3 8 2.7 9 
			 1981 3.0 9 3.4 11 
			 1987 4.4 13 5.4 16 
			 1988 and 1989 4.8 14 5.6 17 
			 1990 and 1991 5.1 15 5.9 18 
			 1991 and 1992 5.5 16 6.5 19 
			 1992 and 1993 5.6 16 6.8 20 
			 1993-94 to 1994-95 5.2 15 6.6 19 
			 1994-95 4.8 15 6.6 20 
			 1995-96 4.6 14 6.5 20 
			 1996-97 5.0 15 6.8 21 
			 1997-98 5.0 15 6.5 20 
			 1998-99 5.0 15 6.6 19 
			 1999-00 5.1 15 6.7 20 
			 2000-01 5.1 15 6.6 19 
			 2001-02 5.1 15 6.5 19 
			 2002-03 5.1 15 6.7 19 
			 2003-04 5.1 15 6.7 19 
			 2004-05 5.0 14 6.5 19 
			 2005-06 5.4 15 7.2 20 
			 2006-07 5.3 15 7.3 20 
			 2007-08 5.6 15 7.5 21 
			 2008-09 5.8 16 7.8 21 
			 2009-10 5.7 16 7.9 22 
		
	
	1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data available at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbai_arc
	2. Data up to 1994-95 is sourced from the Family Expenditure Survey and covers the United Kingdom. These are single calendar years for 1979, 1981, and 1987, two combined calendar years from 1988 to 1993 and a combined financial year 1993-94 to 1994-95. Data since the single financial year 1994-95 is sourced from the Family Resources Survey and covers Great Britain up to 1997-98 and the United Kingdom from 1998-99, with estimates for Northern Ireland imputed for the years 1998-99 through 2001-02. The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years.
	3. Disposable household income is adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.
	4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.
	5. Numbers of people in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.
	6. Figures have been presented on both Before and After Housing Cost bases. For Before Housing Costs figures, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, buildings insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for After Housing Costs they are.
	7. Disposable incomes have been used. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax, payments, National Insurance contributions, council tax / domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes.
	8. The household level poverty threshold is defined as the 60 per cent of contemporary median equivalised disposable household income.

Republic of Ireland: Celebrations

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 27 April (WA 144) concerning a celebration of the murders at Glenwood in County Clare in 1921, whether they made representations to the Government of the Republic of Ireland about the presence of a member of the Irish Cabinet as a special guest at the celebration; and, if so, what was the response.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Press coverage of the event on 23 January 2011 reported that Tony Killeen who was the former Minister of Defence and the Teachta Data for the Clare constituency attended. Our embassy in its contacts with the Department of Foreign Affairs asked if there was government support for the event and was told that the local community organised it. We have not made representations regarding the presence of the former Minister for Defence as we understood he was attending in a personal capacity.

Safety: Electrical Fires

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hanham on 21 June (WA 290-1), how many deaths and injuries were caused as a result of electrical fires for each of the periods stated.

Baroness Hanham: The numbers of deaths and injuries as a result of electrical fires in dwellings in England and Wales are shown for these periods in the table.
	
		
			 Casualties in electrical fires in dwellings, England and Wales, 2008-09 and 2009-10 
			  Fatalities Non-fatal casualties 
			 2008-09 56 3,812 
			 2009-10 60 3,316 
		
	
	Source: Fire and Rescue Incident databases, DCLG

Schools: Exclusion

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to schools on soft exclusions.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have commissioned on the impact of the use of soft exclusions from schools.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what statistics they hold on the use of soft exclusions from schools; and how often they are updated.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children with autism have been subjected to soft exclusions from schools in England in the last two years for which figures are available.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Soft exclusions, or unofficial exclusions, are unlawful. The department does not condone the use of unofficial exclusions by schools and has made it clear that unofficial exclusions are unlawful. If a pupil has committed a disciplinary offence and needs to be removed from school, formal exclusion, whether fixed-period or permanent, is the only legal method of removal. The exclusion guidance sets out the only ways in which a pupil can be legally removed from the school premises. Guidance on the procedures to be followed is available on line at http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupportlbehaviour/exclusion/ a0076478/exclusion-auidance.
	In addition to the guidance, the department has also published a document on effective practice for local authorities in managing and eliminating incidents of unofficial exclusion, which is available on the department's website: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/ behaviour/exclusion/a0076496/effecti ve-practice-for-local-authorities-and-schools-in-managind-and-eliminating-incidents-of¬unofficial-exclusion.
	We do not have any research on the usage of unofficial exclusion. However, we will be testing a new approach to managing permanent exclusion-where schools take responsibility for finding and funding the pupil's placement-in almost 300 schools in 20 local authorities from this autumn.
	One of the detailed issues to be assessed through the trial will be the prevalence, and impact on pupils, of unofficial exclusion. Evidence from the trial will directly inform future policy development.
	The department does not hold statistics on soft exclusions or unofficial exclusions. The latest published statistics can be found in the "Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2008-09" Statistical First Release at: http://www.education.dov.uk/rsdateway/DB/SFR/s000942/index.shtml. The 2009-10 statistics will be published at the end of July.

Schools: Parent Governors

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to schools on the appointment of parent governors, and in particular on whether such governors should usually be from among parents of the current pupil cohort when such parents are available.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Guidance on the appointment of parent governors is set out in the Statutory Guidance on the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2007 and in Chapter 2 of A Guide to the Law for School Governors.
	Parents (including carers) of registered pupils at a maintained school are eligible for election for parent governorship. Parent governors are elected by other parents at the school. However, if insufficient parents stand for election the governing body can appoint:
	a parent of a registered pupil at the school, or if that is not possible;a parent of a former pupil at the school, or if that is not possible; anda parent of a child of under compulsory school age.

State Recognition

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government when considering recognising a state, what consideration they give to (a) collective, and (b) individual, human rights.

Lord Howell of Guildford: I refer the noble Lord to my answer of 13 May 2011. As regards the Government's position on collective and individual human rights, it has been a longstanding position of successive Governments, and remains the position of this Government that, with the exception of the right of self determination, the UK considers that human rights belong to individuals and not to communities or groups.

Telephone Hacking

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the cost to date of Operation Weeting, the police investigation into allegations of phone hacking.

Baroness Browning: The Home Office does not hold the information requested. The Home Office provides funding to the Metropolitan Police Authority but it is a matter for the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to decide how best to use these resources.

Tibet

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent events in Ngaba, eastern Tibet; and whether they have made representations to the Government of China to withdraw their armed forces from the monastery and the town of Ngaba, to release all those detained, and to allow access to the monastery and to the region for international observers and journalists.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are deeply concerned by reports of violence at the Kirti monastery in a Tibetan area of Sichuan Province. We have raised these concerns both with the Chinese embassy in London and with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. My honourable friend Jeremy Browne, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, wrote to the Chinese ambassador on 3 May raising our concerns about recent human rights developments in China, including the situation at Kirti monastery.
	At the 17th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 16 June, the EU statement called on the Chinese authorities to refrain from the use of force in dealing with the situation at the Kirti monastery, and to allow independent observers to the site. Officials in our embassy in Beijing and in our consulate in Chongqing will continue to press for access to Tibet and Tibetan regions.

UK Border Agency

Baroness Valentine: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider any offers from ports of entry to support or fund an enhanced service from the UK Border Agency.

Baroness Browning: The UK Border Agency welcome innovative proposals from ports of entry to support or fund an enhanced service at the border provided that such proposals are cost neutral to the agency, take account of the need to ensure the security of the border and provide a benefit to all of the travelling public.

Universities: Social Mobility

Lord Janner of Braunstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether private universities such as the New College of the Humanities encourage social mobility.

Lord Henley: The Government have not made such an assessment. We want a dynamic, responsive higher education system with increased competition driving improvements and giving students greater choice. Proposals for the future regulatory regime for higher education, including the promotion of fair access and widening participation, were set out in the higher education White Paper.
	All UK higher education institutions are private autonomous bodies that are independently run.

Work Capability Assessments

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of appeals against the outcomes of work capability assessments on the grounds of mental health conditions were successful in the past 12 months.

Lord Freud: Entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) is based on an assessment of functional capability, not on medical condition or diagnosis. The medical condition recorded on a claim form does not therefore in itself confer entitlement to ESA. So, for example, a decision on entitlement for a customer claiming ESA on the basis of a mental health condition would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities assessed by the work capability assessment. It is also important to note that, where someone has more than one diagnosis or disabling condition, only the predominant one is currently recorded.
	There were 132,800 Fit for Work decisions for new ESA claims made up to the end of February 2010, where the primary health condition was classed as mental and behavioural disorders. There have been 50,100 appeals heard against these decisions, of which 21,200 (42 per cent) were cases where the decision was overturned in favour of the appellant.
	The data presented above come from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions, functional assessment data from Atos Healthcare and appeals data from the Tribunals Service.
	Data on appeals heard are published for new ESA claims starting between October 2008, when ESA was introduced, and up to the end of February 2010 (the latest month where there are sufficient volumes of appeals heard). Appeals data are included only where the person claiming has been found Fit for Work, they have subsequently appealed against the department's decision and the appeal has been heard by the Tribunals Service. Figures are only available for appeals that have been completed and not those that are currently under way.
	Due to the time it takes for appeals to be submitted to the Tribunals Service and heard, it is likely that there are more appeals that have not yet been heard. As a result these figures should continue to be treated as emerging findings and not final at this stage.

Work Capability Assessments

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidelines have been issued to staff undertaking the work capability assessment in respect of mental health conditions.

Lord Freud: The main guidance for Atos healthcare professionals in respect of mental health conditions is contained in the Revised WCA Handbook ESA (LOW / LCWRA) Amendment Regulations 2011.
	Additional guidance is contained in a variety of other training products. A list of all guides and training material for Atos Healthcare professionals is detailed in Schedule 28 to the contract between Atos Healthcare and the DWP. A copy of the list is in the House of Lords Library.